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No article about solar sails should miss out on mentioning that this idea like ... 100 years old? The laser is new, though.
by stewbrew 5y ago
No article about solar sails should miss out on mentioning that this idea like ... 100 years old? The laser is new, though.
- malfist 5y agoLaser powered solar sails have been around a while, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion > Use of a laser-pushed lightsail was proposed initially by Marx in 1966, as a method of interstellar travel that would avoid extremely high mass ratios by not carrying fuel, and analyzed in detail by physicist Robert L. Forward in 1989
- DennisP 5y agoThe concept is old, but there's new engineering for a specific practical design.